Patents Examined by Robert Craddock
  • Patent number: 9524427
    Abstract: There is provided an image processing apparatus including: a communication unit receiving first feature amounts, which include coordinates of feature points in an image acquired by another image processing apparatus, and position data showing a position in the image of a pointer that points at a location in a real space; an input image acquisition unit acquiring an input image by image pickup of the real space; a feature amount generating unit generating second feature amounts including coordinates of feature points set in the acquired input image; a specifying unit comparing the first feature amounts and the second feature amounts and specifying, based on a comparison result and the position data, a position in the input image of the location in the real space being pointed at by the pointer; and an output image generating unit generating an output image displaying an indicator indicating the specified position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kouichi Matsuda
  • Patent number: 9524359
    Abstract: A method is described for discrete element modelling and for performing a three-dimensional simulation through time of a plurality of discrete elements corresponding to particles and physical geometry elements. The method can comprise the following operations: providing a virtual geometry object comprising a user-defined shape (the virtual geometry object does not undergo physical interaction with the particles or physical geometry elements during the simulation); receiving user-defined parameters for determining the position, orientation and any movement of the virtual geometry object with respect to the three-dimensional space; locating the virtual geometry object in the three-dimensional space during the simulation in accordance with the user-defined parameters; and/or identifying the particles, physical geometry elements and/or physical interactions having a particular relationship with respect to the virtual geometry object. The identified elements can then be analyzed by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: DEM SOLUTIONS LIMITED
    Inventors: John Favier, Andrew Milne
  • Patent number: 9463743
    Abstract: A vehicle information display device including: a subject detecting sensor that detects an object in a surrounding area of a host vehicle; and a display portion that is configured to have a display area for displaying a display frame corresponded to the object in a mode of surrounding the object, and for emphatically displaying the object detected by the subject detecting sensor, and the display frame is displayed in a manner of that the emphasizing degree of an enlarging part is less than that of a non-enlarging part, when the display frame enlarges as the host vehicle moves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shoichi Hayasaka, Yoshiyuki Hatakeyama
  • Patent number: 9467682
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a model storing unit configured to store a three-dimensional form model for acquiring the position and posture of a measurement target object, an image acquiring unit configured to acquire an image of the measurement target object, a first position and posture acquiring unit configured to acquire a first position and posture of the three-dimensional form model in a first coordinate system on the basis of a first geometric feature of the three-dimensional form model and a first geometric feature within the image, and a second position and posture acquiring unit configured to acquire a second position and posture of the three-dimensional form model in a second coordinate system that is different from the first coordinate system on the basis of a second geometric feature of the three-dimensional form model and a second geometric feature within the image and the first position and posture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Daisuke Watanabe, Shinji Uchiyama, Daisuke Kotake
  • Patent number: 9466265
    Abstract: The present specification relates to a display device and a method for controlling the same, and more particularly, if an area in which an image is displayed includes a curved area, to a display device rotating the image according to a touch input in the curved area and providing additional information on the image together with the image and a method for controlling the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Eunhyung Cho, Sinae Chun, Jihwan Kim
  • Patent number: 9466142
    Abstract: Avatars are animated using predetermined avatar images that are selected based on facial features of a user extracted from video of the user. A user's facial features are tracked in a live video, facial feature parameters are determined from the tracked features, and avatar images are selected based on the facial feature parameters. The selected images are then displayed are sent to another device for display. Selecting and displaying different avatar images as a user's facial movements change animates the avatar. An avatar image can be selected from a series of avatar images representing a particular facial movement, such as blinking. An avatar image can also be generated from multiple avatar feature images selected from multiple avatar feature image series associated with different regions of a user's face (eyes, mouth, nose, eyebrows), which allows different regions of the avatar to be animated independently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Yangzhou Du, Wenlong Li, Xiaofeng Tong, Wei Hu, Yimin Zhang
  • Patent number: 9443495
    Abstract: A device for processing video information has an input unit (112) for receiving the video information having low dynamic range [LDR] video data and/or high dynamic range [HDR] video data, and a video processor (113) for generating a display signal for display in a LDR display mode or HDR display mode. Graphics data is processed for generating an overlay for overlaying the video data. The input unit receives graphics processing control data comprised in the video information, the graphics processing control data including at least one HDR processing instruction for overlaying the graphics data in the HDR display mode. The video processor is constituted for adapting the processing when overlaying the graphics data in dependence on the specific display mode and the HDR processing instruction. Advantageously the source of the video information is enabled to control the processing of graphics in HDR display mode via the HDR processing instruction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
    Inventors: Philip Steven Newton, Wiebe De Haan, Charles Leonardus Cornelius Maria Knibbeler
  • Patent number: 9437159
    Abstract: A wearable computing device includes a head-mounted display (HMD) that generates a virtual reality environment. Through the generation and tracking of positional data, a the virtual environment may be interrupted or paused. Upon pausing the environment, a user may access a number of ancillary menus and controls not otherwise available during normal operation of the virtual environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC
    Inventor: Justin Moravetz
  • Patent number: 9430866
    Abstract: A graphics or image rendering system, such as a map image rendering system, determines a viewing window of a map surface to be displayed, wherein the viewing plane is at an angle of incidence with respect to the map surface. The method generally determines a depth boundary along the map surface where a height projection of a depth increment of a first unit of area is lower than a threshold height increment at a non-zero angle of incidence and at a single zoom level magnification. The method renders the first unit of area within the depth boundary and a second unit of area outside the depth boundary. The first unit of area is rendered at a first density of map data and the second unit of area is rendered at a second density of map data that is lower than the first density of map data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2016
    Assignee: GOOGLE INC.
    Inventor: Brian Cornell
  • Patent number: 9424662
    Abstract: A computer implemented method of processing elevation mesh data defining a polygon mesh surface to determine an alternative representation of the surface using fewer polygons than in the original representation is disclosed. Initially original elevation mesh data is sub-sampled to generate a low resolution representation of the polygon mesh surface where vertices of polygons correspond to points on a coarser X-Y grid than the original elevation mesh data. Error values indicative of the extent that portions of the surface defined by the low resolution elevation mesh data differ from corresponding portions of the surface defined by the original elevation mesh data are then determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2016
    Assignee: VISUAL TECHNOLOGY SERVICES LIMITED
    Inventors: Ian Curington, Evgeny Panasyuk
  • Patent number: 9418450
    Abstract: A texture compression method is described. The method comprises splitting an original texture having a plurality of pixels into original blocks of pixels. Then, for each of the original blocks of pixels, a partition is identified that has one or more disjoint subsets of pixels whose union is the original block of pixels. The original block of pixels is further subdivided into one or more subsets according to the identified partition. Finally, each subset is independently compressed to form a compressed texture block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignee: ATI Technologies ULC
    Inventors: Konstantine Iourcha, Andrew S. C. Pomianowski
  • Patent number: 9418630
    Abstract: Upon receiving a communication switching instruction from a first wireless access point used for communication with an image processing apparatus, an image display apparatus disconnects communication with the first wireless access point. Simultaneously, the image display apparatus transmits, to a second wireless access point, a link request to establish communication with the second wireless access point of a new communication destination included in the switching instruction. The image display apparatus displays, on a display unit, a captured image continuously acquired from am image capturing unit until switching from the first wireless access point to the second wireless access point finishes as communication destination switching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takuya Tsujimoto
  • Patent number: 9412201
    Abstract: Embodiments that relate to selectively filtering geo-located data items in a mixed reality environment are disclosed. For example, in one disclosed embodiment a mixed reality filtering program receives a plurality of geo-located data items and selectively filters the data items based on one or more modes. The modes comprise one or more of a social mode, a popular mode, a recent mode, a work mode, a play mode, and a user interest mode. Such filtering yields a filtered collection of the geo-located data items. The filtered collection of data items is then provided to a mixed reality display program for display by a display device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2016
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: Peter Tobias Kinnebrew, Nicholas Kamuda
  • Patent number: 9396579
    Abstract: A method for visualizing three-dimensional images on a 3D display device, wherein an image to be visualized is supplied as an input image, is characterized in that at least one feature matrix is determined using the input image, the feature matrices defining light/dark information, and in that a display image for reproduction on the 3D display device is produced from the input image using said light/dark information. The invention further relates to a corresponding 3D display device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2016
    Inventors: Ivo-Henning Naske, Sigrid Kamins-Naske, Valerie Antonia Naske
  • Patent number: 9360670
    Abstract: A display device includes a first display unit, a second display unit, and a first image acquisition unit, a second image acquisition unit, an image processing unit, and an image output unit. A display method includes acquiring a first image and a second image by first image acquisition unit and second image acquisition unit respectively, both of the first image and the second image include the target image; determining a display information in accordance with the target image; determining a first display position in the first image and a second display position in the second image in accordance with the target image; displaying the first display image corresponding to the display information at the first display position and the second display image corresponding to the display information at the second display position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignees: BEIJING LENOVO SOFTWARE LTD., LENOVO (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Liuxin Zhang, Xu Zhao
  • Patent number: 9355612
    Abstract: A computing device can track a gaze direction of a user of the computing device. In some embodiments, gaze tracking can be performed using at least one front-facing camera of the computing device. The computing device can determine a position on a display of the device that corresponds to where the user's gaze is directed. The computing device can display content that is decipherable (i.e., readable, legible, recognizable, understandable, non-scrambled, unobscured, etc.) at the position on the display that corresponds to the user's gaze direction. The computing device can scramble at least some content that is displayed at a position(s) on the display other than the position at which the user's gaze is directed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Isaac Jeremy Shepard, Timothy Lee Fowers, William Allan Dugan
  • Patent number: 9330431
    Abstract: Systems and methods for synchronizing, merging, and utilizing multiple data sets for augmented reality application are disclosed. In one example, an electronic system receives and processes live recorded video information, GPS information, map data information, and points of interest information to produce a data set comprising merged graphical and/or audio information and non-graphical and non-audio information metadata that are referenced to the same clock and timestamp information. This data set can be stored in a cloud network storage. By retaining numerical and textual values of non-graphical and non-audio information (e.g.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Inventor: Jeffrey Huang
  • Patent number: 9298257
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for controlling an avatar using expression control points are provided. The apparatus may track positions of feature points and a head movement from an expression of a user, remove the head movement from the positions of the feature points, and generate expression control points. Accordingly, the expression of the user may be reflected to a face of the avatar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Young Kyoo Hwang, Jung Bae Kim, Won Chul Bang, Do Kyoon Kim
  • Patent number: 9299127
    Abstract: A method of splitting of elliptical images performed by a processor is provided. The method includes: receiving an image whose pixels span a range along each of two orthogonal axes; segmenting the image into indexed sub-images; storing the sub-images as texture maps; responding to a request for a value of a texture element having S1, T1 and H coordinates by returning the value of the texture element of the sub-image indexed by H whose X and Y coordinates are S1 and T1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: ImmerVision
    Inventors: Gregory Pekofsky, Dongxu Li, Guillaume Racine
  • Patent number: 9286652
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, provided is a screen generating apparatus that includes: a position information acquirer that acquires a screen position information file that sets a font size of a font included in a screen and position information of an image or a part included in the screen; a screen display size acquirer that acquires a screen display size of a display devise as a target display; a magnification calculator that calculates a magnification by using a predetermined screen display size and the acquired screen display size; a font size determiner that determines a font size in the display devise as the target display based on the calculated magnification; a converter that converts the screen position information file based on the calculated magnification and the determined font size; and a screen generator that generates a screen compatible with the converted screen position information file.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventor: Naoki Takishima